Travel agency: Fewer Romanians return home for the winter holidays amid significant drop in number of flights

Fewer Romanians will return home for the winter holidays as the number of flights from European states with large communities of Romanians has dropped significantly in December, according to online travel agency Vola.ro.

“The winter holidays have always been an opportunity awaited by Romanians studying or working abroad to come home, but this year the flights to Romania have dropped dramatically. According to the latest data recorded by Vola.ro, in December, the number of flights from European countries where a significant part of the Romanian diaspora lives decreased by up to 72%,” the company said, according to News.ro.

Italy registered the largest decrease in the number of flights to Romania, followed by Germany with a decline of 64%, Spain - 58%, France - 44% and Great Britain - 32%.

The number of available flights also influences the evolution of prices on certain routes, the travel agency also said. Thus, according to Vola.ro data, the cost of plane tickets increased by almost 21% on average during the holidays.

For example, the average price for a flight from Great Britain to Romania was EUR 172 per person (an increase of 19% compared to the previous year), while the average cost of a flight from France was EUR 186 per person (an increase of 22% compared to 2019). Flights from Spain had the highest increase - by 27% on average, compared to last year.

On the other hand, there was a 15% decrease in fares for flights from Italy to Romania, and the average cost of a flight in 2020 was EUR 95 per person, compared to EUR 112 per person last year. Also, the average price of domestic flights was 18% lower this year.

More than half of the Romanians flying home for the winter holidays leave from airports in Great Britain, Germany, and Italy, the travel agency also said.

The cheapest return flight booked this year was from Great Britain to Romania - EUR 5.75 per person. By comparison, the cheapest return flight booked last year cost EUR 12 per person.

On the other hand, the most expensive destination of the year was Sweden, where the price of a plane ticket to Romania was EUR 835 per person, an increase of 15% compared to 2019.

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